1961 Lehigh Engineers football team

The 1961 Lehigh Engineers football team was an American football team that represented Lehigh University during the 1961 NCAA College Division football season. Despite not winning either of its two conferences, Lehigh was awarded the Lambert Cup as the best small-college football team in the East.

1961 Lehigh Engineers football
Lambert Cup
Conference	Middle Atlantic Conference
	University Division
1961 record	7–2 (3–2 MAC University)
Head coach	William Leckonby (16th season)
Captain	Michael Semcheski
Home stadium	Taylor Stadium

1961 Middle Atlantic Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
University
No. 15 Rutgers x	4	–	0	–	0			9	–	0	–	0
Bucknell	5	–	2	–	0			6	–	3	–	0
Delaware	3	–	2	–	0			4	–	4	–	0
No. 5 Lehigh	3	–	2	–	0			7	–	2	–	0
Gettysburg	2	–	2	–	1			3	–	5	–	1
Temple	1	–	2	–	2			2	–	5	–	2
Lafayette	1	–	5	–	1			2	–	6	–	1
Muhlenberg	0	–	4	–	0			2	–	7	–	0
College–Northern
Susquehanna x	6	–	0	–	0			8	–	0	–	1
Albright	4	–	0	–	1			7	–	0	–	1
Moravian	4	–	1	–	1			4	–	3	–	1
Wagner	4	–	2	–	0			6	–	3	–	0
Lycoming	1	–	3	–	1			1	–	6	–	1
Wilkes	1	–	6	–	0			1	–	6	–	0
Hofstra *	2	–	0	–	0			7	–	2	–	0
Juniata *	1	–	2	–	0			3	–	4	–	0
Upsala *	0	–	4	–	0			0	–	7	–	0
College–Southern
Lebanon Valley x	5	–	1	–	0			6	–	1	–	0
Swarthmore	4	–	2	–	0			5	–	2	–	0
Western Maryland	4	–	2	–	0			7	–	2	–	0
Dickinson	5	–	3	–	0			5	–	3	–	0
Pennsylvania Military	5	–	3	–	0			6	–	3	–	0
Johns Hopkins	2	–	3	–	1			3	–	4	–	1
Ursinus	2	–	5	–	0			2	–	5	–	0
Drexel	1	–	5	–	1			2	–	5	–	1
Haverford	0	–	6	–	1			0	–	6	–	1
West Chester *	0	–	0	–	0			7	–	2	–	0
Franklin & Marshall *	0	–	3	–	0			1	–	7	–	0
x – Division champion/co-champions * – Ineligible for championship due to insufficient conference games Rankings from AP Poll

In their 16th year under head coach William Leckonby, the Engineers compiled a 7–2 record.[1] Michael Semcheski was the team captain.[2]

In conference play, Lehigh's 3–2 record against opponents in the Middle Atlantic Conference, University Division, secured a tie with Delaware, and placed them behind Rutgers (4–0) and Bucknell (5–2). The Engineers went 1–1 against the Middle Three, losing to Rutgers and beating Lafayette.

The Engineers were a sporadic entry on the national small-college rankings. Lehigh was rated No. 9, with one first-place vote, in the October 5 AP poll, but dropped out of the top 10 the next week. The team returned to the AP rankings on November 9, at No. 8, before rising the next week to No. 6, its eventual year-end ranking. The season's first UPI coaches poll did not place Lehigh in the top 20, though the Engineers made it to No. 19 for two weeks in October before returning for good in mid-November. Following the rivalry victory over Lafayette, Lehigh climbed to a final ranking of No. 11 in the coaches poll.

In both polls, Lehigh ended up the top-ranked team in the geographic area covered by the Lambert awards. Rutgers, which defeated Lehigh and won both conferences, was considered a "major" university and not eligible for the Lambert Cup. Of the eight members of the Lambert selection committee, seven listed Lehigh as their No. 1 choice, with the eighth listing it as No. 2. As the winners of the inaugural small-college Lambert Cup in 1957, Lehigh became the first college to receive the award twice.[3]

Lehigh played its home games at Taylor Stadium on the university campus in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 23	at Delaware		Delaware Stadium Newark, DE (rivalry)	L 6–14	7,100	[4]
September 30	at Harvard*		Harvard Stadium Boston, MA	W 22–17	11,000	[5]
October 7	at Gettysburg		Memorial Field Gettysburg, PA	W 20–6	5,000	[6]
October 14	Merchant Marine*	No. 19	Taylor Stadium Bethlehem, PA	W 20–6	6,000	[7]
October 21	at Rutgers	No. 19	Rutgers Stadium Piscataway, NJ	L 15–32	17,000	[8]
October 28	at Columbia*		Baker Field New York, NY	W 14–7	10,429	[9]
November 4	Colgate		Taylor Stadium Bethlehem, PA	W 20–15	10,000	[10]
November 11	Bucknell	No. 11	Taylor Stadium Bethlehem, PA	W 12–7	11,000	[11]
November 18	Lafayette	No. 15	Taylor Stadium Bethlehem, PA (The Rivalry)	W 17–14	15,000	[12]
*Non-conference game Rankings from UPI Small College Coaches Poll

References

1. "Year-by-Year Results". Lehigh Football Record Book (PDF). Bethlehem, Pa.: Lehigh University. p. 22. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
2. "Lehigh Football Captains". Lehigh Football Record Book (PDF). Bethlehem, Pa.: Lehigh University. p. 12. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
3. "Lehigh Lambert Cup Winner; Amherst 2d". The Boston Daily Globe. Boston, Mass. United Press International. November 29, 1961. p. 38 – via Newspapers.com.
4. Katzman, Izzy (September 25, 1961). "Second Team Credited with Sparking U. of D. Victory". Evening Journal. Wilmington, Del. p. 26 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Lehigh Sets Back Harvard, 22 to 17, on 2 Late Passes". The New York Times. New York, N.Y. October 1, 1961. p. S7.
6. "Bullets Show Improvement but Go Down Before Big Lehigh Grid Squad 20-6". The Gettysburg Times. Gettysburg, Pa. October 9, 1961. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
7. Buss, Jim (October 15, 1961). "Lehigh Laces Kings Point". Sunday Call-Chronicle. Allentown, Pa. p. D1 – via Newspapers.com.
8. Fleming, Jimmie (October 22, 1961). "Rutgers Swamps Lehigh in Rain". The Sunday Home News. New Brunswick, N.J. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
9. Teague, Robert L. (October 29, 1961). "Lehigh Tops Columbia; Engineers Rally". The New York Times. New York, N.Y. p. S1.
10. Holmes, Tommy (November 5, 1961). "Lehigh Checks Colgate". Democrat and Chronicle. Rochester, N.Y. p. 1C – via Newspapers.com.
11. Buss, Jim (November 12, 1961). "Lehigh Escapes Bucknell Scare, 12-7". Sunday Call-Chronicle. Allentown, Pa. p. D1 – via Newspapers.com.
12. Fachet, Bob (November 19, 1961). "Lehigh Field Goal Reverses Lafayette in Last 6 Seconds". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pa. p. S1 – via Newspapers.com.